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So I have had a camera in my hands since I was six years old. The first one was a Polaroid 660. I didn't do much with it because it was my Dad's.

In the early 70s, after having a fascination with television, I began using the family super 8 Kodak to shoot and edit film. In eighth grade I signed up for film making class. I could only take it one year so the next year I searched for an alternative and signed up for photography. I was hooked! My Dad got me the best camera we could afford, a used Asahi Pentax SP1000 which we found in a local pawn shop (I still have it). As soon as I could save up a few dollars I added a Vivitar 28mm, 200mm and a Braun RL515 flash. It is a great camera and with the expert instruction in the darkroom great images came to life. Images that captured a moment in time and place allowed me to share with many who were not there when it occurred.

In 1975, my journalism teacher entered one of my photos in the TC IL (Texas Christian Interscholastic League) state competition. I didn’t know until she told me I should go on the trip to the competition in Dallas Texas. To my surprise it won best in show. I entered again in 1976 I once again won best in show. In those same years I also won various awards in other TCIL and TAPS (Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools) competitions.

I credit those awards to a fantastic teacher, Othel O. Owensby a AP/UPI Houston Chronicle staff photographer. We were fortunate to have excellent darkroom facilities. He also taught us both sides of the business, news photography as well as the artistic aspect and how both can co-exist. His wisdom and knowledge could fill volumes. Some could say he forgot more about photography then we could learn.

I replaced my SP1000 with a Canon Elan and eventually made the choice to go digital which allowed me to use the computer as my darkroom. I now combine the quality of the Canon professional line up of cameras and lenses along with Adobe’s excellent software package.

What you see is unique, we all want the ability to capture a moment in time and share it with others in the future. Sharing is possible by drawing a likeness or you can describe in words but a photograph captures that moment in time and if the photographer has done his job well, the image will tell its own story.

I am not a full time photographer but that is no excuse for not producing a professional results. Capturing moments in history is something I love to do. Preserving what has happen and being able to share with others in the future.

Some will seek to determine what the photographer is trying to say, the inner meaning. However some photographs need only to be viewed, they speak for themselves.

Photography is not about cameras, gadgets and gismos. Photography is about photographers. A camera didn't make a great picture any more than a typewriter wrote a great novel. - Peter Adams - Sydney 1978
All images © Robert L. Townsend.